The Path to the End
by Kate Alexandra
Summary: Harry, in his seventh year, must deal with homework, love, and Voldemort. He must also decode a mysterious book he is given. Who knows for sure what will happen, because only the journey is ever written, never the destination or the path there.


Prologue

The sun was beginning to wane over the horizon and slowly die away, only to leave the emptiness of night upon the countryside. A deeply cold wind stirred up the dull autumn leaves and penetrated the cloak of a mysterious stranger who had just appeared upon a lonely country road. The stranger seemed oblivious of this as he turned down a path and headed towards a large manor off in the distance. The man walked toward the manor for a long time and finally arrived rather exhausted. He walked up onto the porch and pushed open the large door in the center. He took off his cloak and surveyed his surroundings.

He chuckled at the memories this place held for him. He shook his head and regained a grip on the present and the task at hand. He had to find the book. It was important to Harry's survival. He could only hope that it was still here. He hung his cloak on the old coat rack in the foyer. "Where was it last?" he asked himself, "I can't remember where James's dad put it. Damn it."

"I believe it's in the upstairs library," answered a familiar voice.

"Remus, what are you doing here? I thought you were running the underground headquarters for the Order," the man whispered as though someone were listening in on their conversation.

"Right now I'm not. Dumbledore told me at the Order's last meeting where you were and what you were looking for. I came to help you Sirius. I know how horrible your memory is," Remus said with a broad grin.

The two men laughed and embraced each other. They stood embracing each other for a few moments and then moved towards the staircase in the center of the foyer. They began to climb the steps and soon reached the upstairs hallway. The men looked around and rested there for several minutes. Echoes of the past overwhelmed them and they found it hard not to let their minds wander back eighteen years to the summer before Harry had been born.

_That summer had been the best they had ever had. It had been the last summer that they had had together in this house. James and Lily were all most always preoccupied with each other, Sirius was ever the prankster, and Remus was the voice of reason in all the chaos. Peter, the little traitor, was hardly ever there. They all had resided together in the Potter manor since they had left Hogwarts. They all worked for the Ministry. Everything had been wonderful. They had had the most fun pulling pranks on one another. One occasion in particular stuck out in the men's minds. _

"Oi, Lils, where are my socks?" James called out from his and Lily's bedroom.

"James, look in your blasted sock drawer," a frustrated Lily shouted up to her husband.

"I already looked in my blasted sock drawer, dear, none of my bloody socks were in there!" he yelled.

"I put all of your socks away in there. They should be there. If they're not, maybe you should check with Sirius. He might be hexing your socks as we speak," she yelled back.

"That prat, I'm gonna get him! I need my damn socks so I can go to work! SIRIUS, YOU BLOODY PRAT, GIVE ME BACK MY DAMN SOCKS!" James shouted.

"JAMES HAROLD POTTER! YOU WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! THAT WAS TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR!" Lily shrieked at her husband as she came up the steps and walked down the corridor to their room.

Lily appeared in the doorway and gave James a look that clearly stated any more language like that and he would be sleeping in a guest bedroom. She walked into the large bedroom and over to the antique dresser that had belonged to James's maternal grandmother. Lily pulled open the top drawer and found it was empty.

"James, where is Sirius?" she asked.

"I'm right here Lily. What do you want? Did I do something wrong?" he asked innocently.

"You know you did something wrong. Where did you put my socks?" James demanded furiously.

"Jeez, James, don't get so mad. I didn't touch your socks. Maybe Lily didn't put them away like she said she did. You know, now that I think about, doesn't Lily have a sock fetish? I think she is not telling you the truth Prongs," he said.

"Sirius, I trust my wife and if she says my socks were put here, then I believe she is telling the truth," James said looking Sirius in the eyes.

Sirius and Lily looked at each other and doubled over with laughter. James looked at them funny. He continued to stare at his wife and best friend who were on the floor laughing for a long time. Finally, Remus walked in and looked from Lily and Sirius on the floor, up to a bewildered James.

"So, James, have you had trouble finding your socks lately?" Remus inquired with an amused look on his face.

"You mean to tell me you were all in on this? I should have known! Where are my socks, Lily dear?" he asked very annoyed by the whole situation.

"I told you they were in your sock drawer," she said nearly hyperventilating because she was laughing so hard.

"I didn't see... wait a minute. I didn't see them and you say they are there so that means..." James paused a minute and looked at everyone in the room, "YOU MADE MY SOCKS INVISBLE!"

"Yes, we did, well, actually Lily did. It was her idea. She told us only so we'd be in on the joke and so we'd be able to laugh at you," Sirius said trying to regain his composure.

"LILY!" James said in outrage.

"Yes, dear," she said batting her eyelashes, looking completely innocent. James completely forgot what he was going to say. He was lost in his wife's beautiful green eyes.

"Look, Remus, he's already caved and forgotten to yell. How it is the great Prongs is so easily ruled by a petite, little redhead with a temper worse than my own is way beyond me," Sirius said rolling his eyes.

"Many things are way beyond you, Sirius," Remus said. Sirius let out an indignant huff. "Besides, Sirius, you know the Potters have a thing for redheaded women with awful tempers. Just look at James's mom. Remember how she'd always send James a Howler when he did something to get into trouble and how she'd yell at us when we came during the summers for getting in so much trouble at school. I bet you anything that their son will find a young girl with red hair just like Lily's and a temper ten times worse."

They all burst out laughing.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other.

"The invisible sock incident!" they said at the same time. They both burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

"They would've been amused by the fact that you were right Remus," Sirius said after a few minutes.

"Right about what?" he asked.

"Their son did end up with a girl with red hair and a temper worse than Lily's," Sirius replied.

"Oh yeah, that's right. He told me about that," Remus said, slightly amused. "Well, let's go find that book and get it back to Harry as soon as possible. After we give it to him we can tease him about Ginny."

"All right, let's go," he said.

The two men rushed off to the library to find a book that had been long forgotten. It had been forgotten because it was something that had once seemed so insignificant, but was now their one source of salvation. It would mean the difference between victory and defeat for the Order of the Phoenix, as well as life or death for Harry Potter.


End file.
